Our beauty writer explains the benefits of shaving your face and shares some at-home tools Our beauty writer's guide to dermaplaning Our beauty writer's guide to dermaplaning Gillette Mach3 Tweezerman’s Facial Razor tool Kash Beauty Complete Face Palette Kitsch’s Eco-Friendly Dermaplaner Dries Van Noten’s refillable lipsticks Guerlain’s Rouge G Lipstick The first time I saw a woman shave her face for skincare reasons was on an episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey . Caroline Manzo, famed for her no-nonsense approach to everything, was extolling the virtues of the practice as she used a plastic men’s razor to shave the entirety of her face. At the time, September 2014 to be exact (yes, I am an OG, die-hard Housewives fan), I thought she was crazy.
Little did I know that, years later, some of the hottest girls on the internet would be singing the praises of dermaplaning, also known as, yes, shaving your face. Gillette Mach3 Sure, they’re not using a Gillette Mach3 (€9.99 via boots.
ie ) but, essentially, they’re shaving their face. The practice, now known as dermaplaning, is performed both by professionals in dermatology clinics across the world, and in many people’s homes. According to consultant dermatologist Caitriona Ryan of the Institute of Dermatologists, “dermaplaning immediately rejuvenates the skin, leaving it smooth, supple and vibrant.
It enhances the penetration of active ingredients of skincare products and creates a smooth canvas for make-up application for a smoother, more radiant look.” Speaking on her son’s podcast in 2019, Manzo said she didn’t buy into dermaplaning. “You just get a razor, a man’s razor.
.. soap your face up, I don’t care what you soap it up with, soap, baby oil, whatever it is as long as the razor doesn’t catch on your skin, and you shave your face.
I shave from the top of my cheeks all the way down my neck. I’m 57 and a half years old and I don’t have a f**king wrinkle on my face.” According to Prof Ryan, though, shaving at home is not the same as the dermaplaning you’ll experience in a salon.
She says, “dermaplaning uses a straight, rigid blade, as opposed to a flexible blade, which is what a ‘shaving’ blade or razor is. A rigid blade not only removes vellus hair or peach fuzz, it is designed to remove several weeks of dead surface cells as well. “You should not try and dermaplane your own face because the blade needs to be held at a 45-degree angle and the skin must be held taut.
It is very easy to nick your skin or cause skin irritation if this technique is not performed properly.” Tweezerman’s Facial Razor tool So, it would seem there’s a difference between the tools a professional might use and what you can use at home. For proper dermablading, visit a professional.
However, if you want to experiment with facial shaving at home, there are plenty of tools on the market. Tweezerman’s Facial Razor tool (€18 via cultbeauty.com ) is reusable and comes with several replacement blades, which you can repurchase as needed.
Kitsch’s Eco-Friendly Dermaplaner As with anything you use on your face, you do need to ensure the tool is properly cleaned before and after every use, and that the blade is sharp. If that aspect of it concerns you, there are disposable tools on the market. Kitsch’s Eco-Friendly Dermaplaners (€9.
45 via lookfantastic.com ) come in packs of 12, and are 89pc made of wheat straw. Kash Beauty Complete Face Palette Charleen Murphy is one of Ireland’s most-followed influencers, and recently really impressed me by making a video detailing each and every facial intervention she’s had done, from injectables to surgery.
That kind of transparency is incredibly helpful in a world obsessed with perfection, and when you’re as beautiful as Murphy, there will be lots of young women aspiring to emulate your look. Fortunately, you don’t need surgery, as Kash Beauty has collaborated with her for the second time on a collection of beauty products. The Remix collection includes the Complete Face Palette (€34.
95 via kashbeauty.com ), which features cream and powder blushes as well as bronzers and is very handy for popping in your make-up bag. Dries Van Noten’s refillable lipsticks One thing about me is that I love a beautiful thing.
In my post-children life (as in, when they move out, not disappear from the planet), I dream of having a home filled with things I’d happily just sit and look at, and Dries Van Noten’s refillable lipsticks (€73 for tube and lipstick, €37 for lipstick refill only via driesvannoten.com ) entirely fit that bill. I’ve been gazing adoringly at them online for years now, and the only thing that’s stopped me from pressing ‘add to cart’ is my inability to choose which one to buy.
The tubes themselves are gold, and each base and lid features a different print, allowing you to clash them and create something entirely beautiful. I think Neon Print, which has a neon green base and tortoiseshell lid, is my favourite, but will probably change my mind in the next few minutes. The lipstick itself comes in a very wide range of shades and formulas, from matte to satin to sheer or balm.
Whether for yourself or someone else, this would make a stunning gift. Guerlain’s Rouge G Lipstick Guerlain began making beauty products in Paris in 1828. It started with perfume, and then expanded to cosmetics and skincare, but today I want to talk about lipstick.
Guerlain’s Rouge G Lipstick (€36.16 per case, from €36.16 per lipstick refill via cultbeauty.
com ) is packaged in a customisable, refillable tube. If you want jewels, you can have jewels. If you want red leather, you can have red leather.
If you want furry leopard print (and boy do I want furry leopard print), you can have it. In addition, each beautiful tube flips open to reveal a double mirror, so you’ll never be stuck doing your lipstick in your phone camera again. As for the actual lipstick, it’s available in a velvet matte or satin finish, as well as the new ultra-care formulation, and in 40 shades.
For an extra-special touch, you can even have the case engraved, making it a real one-of-a-kind. No, this is not something you need, but boy is it something a lipstick lover would love. Join the Irish Independent WhatsApp channel Stay up to date with all the latest news.
